1. What is the setting of the novel?
2. How does the setting affect the character and the events?
3. What are the conflicts of the novel?
4. Which conflicts do the end of the novel resolve?
Analyzing Character
5. Who are the two women who influence Billie Jo the most?
6. Tell how Billie Jo's mother influences her. What are some of the important things that she learns from her?
7. Tell how Billie Jo's teacher, Miss Freeland, influences her.
8. Who does Billie Jo meet in the boxcar?
9. How does he influence her?
10. Compare and contrast the man in the boxcar to Billie Jo's father.
Analyzing the Point of View
11. What is the point of view of this novel?
12. How would the novel have been different if the father had narrated it?
Analyzing the Author's Style
13. What is unusual about the style that the author used to write this novel?
14. Did this format help you as the reader to get into the story and understand the main character? How?
Theme/Purpose
15. How does Billie Jo show that she has forgiven her father and herself?
16. How does her father show that he has forgiven her, himself, and the land?
17. How does the author suggest that in some ways the land has also forgiven the people for this misuse?
18. The phrase "out of the dust" appears several times in the book. At one point Billie Jo wants to escape "out of the dust," but later she says, "I can't get out of something that is inside me." How does the title of the book reflect Billie Jo as a person?
19. How does it reflect on the general experience of people at that time?
20. What is the significance of the title of the book?
Historical Aspects
21. List details from the book that depict life in the 1930's.
22. How do you think the author was able to vividly describe the dust bowl?
23. What are the most interesting facts you learned about everyday life in the 1930's?
Making Connections
24. List several disasters that have occurred in our land or other lands that might compare to the great dust storms of the 1930's.
25. How did the people in those lands cope with the disasters?
Discussion Questions on Out of the Dust
Analyzing Plot
1. What is the setting of the novel?2. How does the setting affect the character and the events?
3. What are the conflicts of the novel?
4. Which conflicts do the end of the novel resolve?
Analyzing Character
5. Who are the two women who influence Billie Jo the most?6. Tell how Billie Jo's mother influences her. What are some of the important things that she learns from her?
7. Tell how Billie Jo's teacher, Miss Freeland, influences her.
8. Who does Billie Jo meet in the boxcar?
9. How does he influence her?
10. Compare and contrast the man in the boxcar to Billie Jo's father.
Analyzing the Point of View
11. What is the point of view of this novel?12. How would the novel have been different if the father had narrated it?
Analyzing the Author's Style
13. What is unusual about the style that the author used to write this novel?14. Did this format help you as the reader to get into the story and understand the main character? How?
Theme/Purpose
15. How does Billie Jo show that she has forgiven her father and herself?16. How does her father show that he has forgiven her, himself, and the land?
17. How does the author suggest that in some ways the land has also forgiven the people for this misuse?
18. The phrase "out of the dust" appears several times in the book. At one point Billie Jo wants to escape "out of the dust," but later she says, "I can't get out of something that is inside me." How does the title of the book reflect Billie Jo as a person?
19. How does it reflect on the general experience of people at that time?
20. What is the significance of the title of the book?
Historical Aspects
21. List details from the book that depict life in the 1930's.22. How do you think the author was able to vividly describe the dust bowl?
23. What are the most interesting facts you learned about everyday life in the 1930's?
Making Connections
24. List several disasters that have occurred in our land or other lands that might compare to the great dust storms of the 1930's.25. How did the people in those lands cope with the disasters?